The Washington Redskins advanced in the power rankings and it probably could have been even a little bit more. However, their place in the rankings shows that the Redskins still have many minds to change.
When you’ve been bad for as long as they have, it’s understandable. But in ESPN’s latest power rankings, the Redskins advanced three spots to No. 24 after beating the Philadelphia Eagles. The 2-2 Redskins are the lowest-rated team of those who have a .500 record or better.
Perhaps if they had not looked so bad in a prime time game the previous week vs. New York, the Redskins would have inched higher. After all, they’re still behind Tennessee (23), the Eagles (22) and New Orleans (21). Each of those teams has only one victory. The Saints moved 10 spots for beating Dallas, playing without Tony Romo and Dez Bryant. The Eagles remain a mess and they did fall five spots after losing in Washington. (Do I need to say that it’s not automatic that you get ranked ahead of a team you beat? For what it’s worth, Miami is ranked 30th, but they’ve been in a freefall for three weeks.)
Also in the NFC East: Dallas remains 13th while the New York Giants are 15th.
The Redskins’ other victim this season, St. Louis, jumped eight spots to No. 11 after winning at Arizona. Big road wins matter a great deal and that’s something Washington hasn’t had in a while. Beat Atlanta on Sunday and see how far the Redskins jump. The problem has been consistency, which leads many to still viewing a win by Washington as more an aberration than anything. For now, the key is to see if the Redskins actually can post a road win over a good team. If that happens, believers will start to trickle in. Another showing like the Giants game and the perception won’t change.